At the Vintage Grand Prix on July 19, at least one person appreciated the sticky heat.
“We’ve been doing really well — we made over $250 just today,” said Corey, a 13-year-old entrepreneur who was selling bottled water with a friend near the entrance to the annual Schenley Park event. “Isn’t there like a huge heatwave going on? People are thirsty, so we have water.”
The consensus among Pittsburgh natives is that this summer in particular is hot and wet. The data backs that up.
This June, the average temperature was 73.1 degrees. That’s the highest average June temperature since 1943, when it came to 74.5.
July notched an average of 77 degrees, well above the normal 73.2. That’s not quite a record: It ranks third. It was not quite as hot as 2020, when we saw the average reach 77.3, the highest since 1934.
Longtime Pittsburghers remember 1988, when the temperature here peaked at 103, the city’s highest ever. But that year the average temperature for the month of June was only 68.5, and July averaged 76.8.
Bill Modzelewski, a meteorologist from the Pittsburgh National Weather Service in Moon, said winds from the southwest have contributed to this year’s heat and rain.
The humidity and heat are tip-toeing the line of unprecedented, with Modzelewski calling it “more moisture and more flooding than we’ve seen at least in the past couple of summers.”
High pressure, high temperature
According to Tim Cermak, also a meteorologist with the Pittsburgh weather service office, the heat this year has to do with the large-scale weather pattern, notably a big area of high pressure centered in Pittsburgh.
“That’s when we see our biggest heatwaves, is when we see our big areas of high pressure sitting right on top,” he said. In other seasons that typically produces clear skies and sun.
“But in the summer when it occurs, it gets hot.”
Dew points driving discomfort
For some at the Grand Prix, the heat and rain have been difficult to manage.
“It’s hot. And the weather is very different than normal — it’s never this wet,” said Jonna Mundorf. “It’s usually humid here, but something about this summer is worse. We have a pool, so that helps.”
Along with the heat this summer, there has also been a noticeable increase in humidity.
“If it has felt more humid this summer, it’s because it has been,” said Cermak.
The average dew point for June and the first two weeks of July is the highest since 1945.
Dew point is the temperature to which the air would need to be cooled (at constant pressure) to reach a relative humidity of 100%. Generally the higher the dew point, the more humid it feels.
The average dew point for June and the first two weeks of July is the highest average dew point since 1945.National Weather service
Although this summer, statistically, is the hottest and most humid in over 90 years, climate professionals believe that record won’t stand for long.
Kelly Sanks, the climate science lead at the Center for Climate Integrity predicted that “next year will be even hotter, and the year after will be even hotter and that’ll just keep spiraling until we really get to these temperatures that humans really aren’t built to handle.”
The center, an environmental education organization, conducted a study on how climate change can contribute to higher costs for Pennsylvania taxpayers. The study found that Pittsburgh would have to spend $520 million (around $31 million a year) by 2040 to adapt to the demands of climate change, mostly through stormwater and drainage upgrades.
What Pittsburgh residents can do
According to 2019 Census data — the latest available for this measure — approximately 6.2% (65,300) of Pittsburgh metro area households did not have air conditioning.
“If a portion of people within Pittsburgh don’t have air-conditioning, when you get these really hot temperatures that we’ve never been experiencing before, the city is going to need to be able to open cooling centers,” said Sanks. “Otherwise you’ll get a lot of excess heat deaths.”
Around 6% of Pittsburgh-area households did not have air conditioning.U.S. Census
Cermak added that hydration as a key factor in keeping comfortable. “If you have to be outside, make sure you’re taking frequent breaks to drink water.”
Kenzie, a local resident standing in line for lemonade at the Pittsburgh Grand Prix, said she was “dying.”
“I am staying inside as much as I can.” She laughed, then added, “I came outside and the car was so hot, I was ready to go back and get my AC.”
Others at the Grand Prix were as concerned about the rain as the heat.
“Our business is weather-dependent,” said Janet Luketich, who co-owns a concrete resurfacing company. “This summer has really hurt us. May and June were especially difficult — way more rain than usual. It killed us.”
“It’s humid — way more humid this summer,” said Ken, a lifelong Pittsburgh resident attending the Grand Prix, while re-applying sunscreen.
Missy, his partner, said the warmer temperatures have been welcome after a long winter. “The weather is beautiful,” she said. “After the bad winters, this has been great.”
Ayla Saeed is an editorial intern at PublicSource and can be reached at ayla@publicsource.org.
This story was fact-checked by Jamie Wiggan.
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